Attachment for printing presses



Mar. 27, 1923.

A. L. GRAMMER.

ATTACHMENT FOR PRINTING PRESSES.

FILED FEB. 3. 1922. 2 SHEETS-SHEET 1 m z/vro/i' Iv/rmsss; WK ##en L. gramme)" 'JTTORIVEY.

Mar. 27, 1923.

' A. L. GRAMMER.

ATTACHMENT FOR PRINTING PRESSES.

2 SHEETS-SHEET Z- HLED FEB. 3, 1922..

W/fA/ESS: W

- Patented Mar. 27, 1923.

UNITE- ALLEN L. GRAMM ER, 0F PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA.

ATTAC HMENT FOR PRINTING PRESSES.

Application filed February 3, 1922. Serial No. 588,779

ments for Printing Presses, of which the folv lowing is a specification.

The principal objects of the present in vention are, first, to dispense with the use of slip sheets; second, to provide an automatic device for drying or permitting the ink or color to dry as thesheets are delivered from the press in such a way that ofli'set or smearing is avoided while the operation of the press is not interfered with nor is any considerable amount of space required; and third, to provide for theuse, if desired, of a heating or oxidizing agent for facilitating or. hastening the drying operation. Generally stated, the invention consists of an attachment for printing presses which comprises t-h combination'of means timed with the pressor delivering sheets from the press as they are printed either in color or not on shelves which may be foraminous' and which are movable toward and away from said means and adapted to receive sheets" delivered therefrom, intermittent motion mechanism synchronized with the delivery means forrepeatedly presenting the shelves alternately to the delivery means for the reception of sheets, and devices for delivering sheets from each shelf upon the completion of its cycle of movement.

The invention further comprises the improvements to be presently described and nally claimed.

In the followingdescription reference will be made to the accompanying drawings forming part hereof and diagrammatically illustrative of one form of embodiment of the invention selected from other -torms of embodiments and in those drawings- Figure 1 is an elevational view;

Fig. 2 is a top or plan view, partly in section, and with some of the superstructure removed.-

Figs. 3 and 4 are -V16WS partly in section illustrative of sheet gripper or feed devices and showing the same two-positions, and

Fig. 5 is a perspective view of portions of two of the shelves shown in Figs: 1 and 2 and also showing a shelves. 7

In. the drawings 1, generally, is a means sheet onone of thefor delivering sheets a from the press before the ink or color on the upper 'face of the sheets is dry, and these means are timed with the press. Of course such delivery means are. capable of embodiment in a number of forms well known to those skilled in=the art and therefore a detail description of them is unnecessary. However, in -the drawings there are shown two belts 2 provided with grippers 3 which are opened at appropriate times by passing them between rails 4. I

have not illustrated means for timing the belts with the press because such means are too well understood to require illustration. However, I may say thatsuch means are connected with the wheels 5 which drive the endless belts 2. There are shelves generally indicated at 8 and they are movable towards and away from the delivery means and are adapted to receive sheets delivered therefrom. These shelves are "shown as consisting of frames 9 provided with lugs 10 connected together and spaced from each other and also as consisting of wires 11 stretched over the frames so that the shelves are foraminous and spaced apart ands-sheet may be fed onto any shelf without touching the shelf above itand the lugs 10 provide on each side of the shelves space for the accommodation of the grippers. The various shelves are connected together and with a yoke 12 by which they can be movedup and down in a frame or housing 13 -as by means of screws 14 engaging nuts on the yoke and in this way the individual shelves can be adjusted to the proper level for receiving sheets. a from the delivery means 1- and in? having sheets removed from them-by the asivery or feed mechanism 1. There is intermittent motion mechanism synchronized with the delivery ziieans for raising and lowering the shelves to present them alternately to the delivery means for the recep-' tion of sheets. The intermittent motion operated and timed to deliver sheets away from each shelf upon the completion of its cycle of movement .as will appear more "clearly from the following description.

delivered upon alternate shelves of the series of shelves which is lowered withan appropriate intermittent motion for that purpose. When the alternate shelves have been thus'filled with sheets the series of shelves is lifted with an appropriate intermittent motion and the intermediate shelves are filled with sheets. Then as the shelves again descend, a sheet is withdrawn by the mechanism 1 from the alternate shelves as another sheet is fed by the mechanism'l to them, and when the shelves are again ascending the mechanism 1 withdraws a sheet fr'om each shelf as the mechanism 1 feeds a sheet to that shelf. It may be remarked that in this way the sheet fed onto thefirst shelf of the alternate or intermediate series of shelves is the last sheet to be withdrawn from the shelves of that series, so that each sheet remains on its shelf during the entire cycle of movement of the shelf. This provides a compact arrangement and permits a great many sheets to be dried in comparatively small space. Of course the sheets are laid on the shelves with the newly inked or colored surface upward and the foraminous structure of the shelves when present facilitates drying. It is contemplated that the housing 13 might take the form of a hood or closed structure or that in any other appro-. priate way the sheets, as they are carried on the shelves, can be subjected to heat orthe action of an atmosphere adapted to facilitate the drying. By the use of the described apparatus 'the sheets are kept apart and properly. dried in a comparatively small space and by simple machinery without the use of slip sheets which, to those skilled in the art, is obviously an important advance in the art of printing, more particularly in the case of color work.

It will be obvious to those skilled in the art to which the invention relates that modifies tions may be made in details of construction,- arrangement and procedure without departing from the spirit of the invention which is 1,44e,eee

not limited as to those matters or otherwise than as the prior art and the appended claims may require.

I claim:

1. An attachment for printing presses comprising the combination of means timed with the press for delivering sheets, shelves movable alternately towards and alternately away from said means and adapted to receive the sheets therefrom, intermittent motion mechanism synchronized with the delivery means for presenting the shelves alternately to the delivery means for the 'recdption of the sheets, and devices for delivering sheets away from each shelf upon the completion of its cycle of movement.

2. An attachment for printing presses comprising the combination of means timed with the press for delivering sheets, interconnected shelves movable vertically in respect to said means and adapted to present alternate shelves for the reception of sheets therefrom, intermittent motion mechanism synchronized with the delivery means for presenting the shelves alternately to the delivery means for the reception of sheets, and devices for delivering sheets away from each shelf upon the completion of its cycle of movement. e

3. An attachment for printing presses comprising the combination of means timed with the press for delivering sheets, foraminous shelves movable towards and away from said means and adapted to receive the sheets therefrom, intermittent motion mechanism synchronized with the delivery'means for presenting the shelves alternately to the delivery means for the reception of the sheets, and devices for delivering sheets away from each shelf upon the. completion of its cycle of movement 4. An attachment for printing presses comprising the combination of meanstinied with the press for delivering sheets, fr

provided with wires and constituting shelves movable towards and away'from said means and adapted to receive the sheets therefrom,

intermittent motion mechanism synchronized with the delivery means for presenting the shelves alternately to the delivery means for the reception of the sheets, and devices for delivering sheets away from each shelf upon the completion of its cycle of move- 4 ment.

ALLEN L. GRMER. 

